On Wednesday 24th May six recent Shrewsbury High School leavers and D of E coordinator at the school, Mr Barry Brown were invited to Buckingham Palace for a Gold DofE presentation. The Duke of Edinburgh himself was present at what will be his last DofE public engagement and the group felt very privileged to be present on this occasion. In total, approximately 1500 Gold Awards were presented in small groups of 50. HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex addressed a group of young people from across Shropshire and TV presenter Steph McGovern presented the certificates. Both were highly engaging and made a very positive impact on the group. The weather was amazing and the palace grounds were really beautiful – in all, it was a stunning day!
Shrewsbury High School made a great impression gaining 6 Golds from the 50 awarded on the day and these went to Eleanor Fallows, Emma Wycherley, Nicole Fisher, Martha Pickles, Ellie Davies and Rachael Cooper. Mr Brown was invited as a Special Guest of the West Midlands Region to mark 20 years of service to DofE as Award Unit Leader and Head of Expeditions.
Hot on their heels are another crop of girls who have recently qualified for their Gold Awards and will be attending the palace in the next 18 months: Millie Peach who left last year and Sophie Haspel, Lucy Ashby, India Clark, Fran Fong and Emily Shipston, all current Year 13s. This is an amazing achievement as many students only complete the Award after leaving school.
Photo caption: SHS Gold Award winners at Buckingham Palace
